Saeed bin Nasir and Shahid Afridi hit impressive halfcenturies as Karachi Whites consolidated their grip overKarachi Blues in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I cricketmatch at KCCA Stadium here Friday.After taking a first innings of 33, the Whites closed thepenultimate day of the four-day clash on 212 for two intheir second knock.Saeed, who was tragically run out for 68 in the firstinnings, was batting with a fluent 73 off 115 balls in theunbroken third wicket stand of 86 with Test reject HasanRaza (36). Saeed has so far hit six fours and one six.Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan all-rounder, struck a typicallyswashbuckling 60 off 59 balls while dominating the openingpartnership of 80 with Ghulam Ali (37). He hit eight foursand a brace of sixes, the second clearing the ground by along way.Earlier, the Blues skipper Mohammad Javed was left strandedon 79 as his side managed 218 after resuming at 167 forseven. Javed’s 171-ball innings contained four boundaries.Pacer Tanvir Ahmed took two more wickets Friday to finishwith five for 64 in 25 overs.International umpire Afzaal Ahmed was unable to take hisplace Friday because of a back strain and was replaced byKhalid Mahmood.
A major injury update has emerged on Newcastle United utility man Matt Ritchie…
What’s the talk?
Chronicle reporter Lee Ryder has revealed that the Scottish full-back will be involved as the Magpies head down to St. Mary’s this evening.
The ex-Bournemouth man has not featured in the Premier League since the 4-0 loss to Manchester City at St. James’ Park in December.
Ryder Tweeted: “No major injury worries for #nufc ahead of their trip to Southampton. Matt Ritchie returns to the squad.”
Buzzing
This news will leave Eddie Howe buzzing as it will provide a big boost to his squad heading into the remaining months of the campaign.
It will be especially useful over the next four days as Newcastle face two Premier League matches in quick succession against Southampton and Chelsea.
Squad rotation to keep players fresh and avoid any further injury blows will be key and that is why the head coach will be delighted to welcome back another option.
Ritchie’s experience and versatility could be particularly key across the two games. Whilst he may not be a player Howe wants to pick from the start, given that he has only just returned from injury, he could be a useful substitute to bring on when needed.
He has shown throughout his career that he is adaptable and willing to play in any position to help the team on the pitch. As per Transfermarkt, he has played left-back, right-back, left-midfield, right-midfield and centre-forward throughout his time with Swindon, Bournemouth and Newcastle, among others.
This means that Howe can use him in a variety of positions as cover for potential injuries in the upcoming matches, which is one reason why he will be delighted to have him back and in the squad against the Saints.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
His experience is another one as the 32-year-old has a wealth of top-flight football under his belt. Ritchie has played 162 Premier League matches throughout his career – playing in the division for Portsmouth, Bournemouth and now the Magpies.
This suggests that he has the nous to provide a boost off the bench at this level. He should have the relevant experience, given the amount of football he has played in the Premier League, to know what to do in the final 15 minutes to see a game out and this is why Howe will be delighted to have him available on the bench tonight and moving forward.
AND in other news, Howe must brutally axe £35k-p/w NUFC dud with “so much ability”, he’s lost his “spark”…
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will ignore ignore players’ past status and award new central contracts based purely on “commitment and importance to the team cause”. The contracts, according to Nasim Ashraf, chairman PCB, will be based on a formula devised by the board last year that awards performance over seniority and status.”We intend to make the central contracts fiercely competitive and a player will have to earn his place in the list regardless of his past status,” Ashraf told . “We will ignore star value and award the contracts purely on the basis of a player’s commitment and importance to the team cause.”The national selection committee has recommended 30 players for the contracts but the PCB will trim the list to 22 players before presenting it to the governing board which is set to meet on January 25.The central contracts, together with a host of other issues, were discussed in a meeting chaired by Ashraf and attended by a number of senior officials, including Talat Ali, the team’s manager, national selectors and several academy coaches.”The main purpose of the meetings was to find ways to improve team spirit and unity among our players. Everybody was convinced that we cannot improve our performance without having completely disciplined players in the national team,” Ashraf said.
Ten days ago, the South Africans would have swaggered into Kingsmead like a top gladiator into the Circus Maximus, but after the 123-run capitulation at the Wanderers, the step has become a little less sure, and the brows a little more creased with worry. Apart from Australia, and Pakistan in Azhar Mahmood’s match, no team has won here since South Africa returned from isolation. India drew in 1992-93, on the back of a doughty century on debut from Pravin Amre, but were thrashed in ’96-’97 on a pitch that afforded extravagant movement off the seam.Yet, when confronted with a bit of movement at Johannesburg, it was South Africa that folded tamely, lasting just a few minutes longer than a Twenty20 innings, and Graeme Smith has a huge task on his hands to restore morale ahead of what has become a must-win game. And it wasn’t only the batsmen that let the team down at the Wanderers. With the exception of Shaun Pollock who was quite magnificent, the bowlers bowled far too short, buying into the stereotype of Indian frailty against pace rather than making optimum use of the conditions.Dale Steyn, who was supposed to rattle the cage with the new ball, barely induced a stroke and limped off after 10.1 overs, and with Makhaya Ntini also off-colour, India’s marquee batsmen all produced innings that were worth far more than a cursory look at the scorecard suggests. With the exception of Ashwell Prince, and Jacques Kallis, who got starts in both innings before falling to Sreesanth’s wonderfully controlled swing bowling, no South African batsman could do the same.The rot started right at the top. During his tenure as captain, Smith hasoften led from the front, scoring superb centuries in England and NewZealand that inspired famous victories. Throughout this series though,both he and Herschelle Gibbs have appeared highly suspect, and a change iscertain at Kingsmead. At the press conference on Saturday, Smith confirmedthat AB de Villiers, who opened with him against Australia a few monthsago, would move up the order, with Gibbs moved all the way down to No.6.It will also be massive game for Hashim Amla, who has captainKwazulu-Natal at provincial level. Prolific in domestic cricket, he hasyet to convince at this level, and there’s always the additional andunfair pressure of being one of the poster boys of the controversialtransformation process. The likes of Jacques Rudolph and Boeta Dippenaarwait in the shadows, and you also wonder how long it will be before NeilMcKenzie gets an opportunity to resume a stop-start career that has neverdone justice to what is undoubtedly a special talent.Smith spoke of how he had worked with Jimmy Cook, formerly of Somerset andthe Transvaal Mean Machine, and “just getting away from it” in a bid torediscover the scoring touch. He might also need to revisit the all-pacebowling strategy, though Paul Harris’s left-arm spin is unlikely tofeature even if Steyn fails to recover from his quadriceps strain.Morne Morkel is tipped for a debut, having impressed against the Indiansat Potchefstroom. His display there told you just why the likes of AllanDonald rate him so highly, but a Test match in such circumstances mightask an awful lot of a young man, even one with a wonderful future. Thesameness of their attack has been South Africa’s Achilles Heel in recenttimes, especially when compared to the likes of Australia and England, andMorkel’s inclusion won’t alleviate that problem.Despite the Wanderers fiasco, South Africa remain favourites on a bouncyKingsmead pitch that will certainly be quicker than the two-paced surfacein Johannesburg. Having been blanked 3-0 by Australia earlier this year,defeat against India doesn’t bear thinking about. If Kingsmead offersredemption, some might look back on what happened at the Wanderers as anaberration. But if it turns out to be a harbinger of things to come,either Smith or Mickey Arthur will surely have to pay the price.
A three-hour delayed start due to overnight rain denied any chances of a result as the match between Guyana and Leeward Islands ended in a drawat St Maarten. Guyana opted not to enforce the follow-on after dismissing Leewards for 349 and instead chose to bat out the rest of the day. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain, and Narsingh Deonarine played out the 33 overs remaining, scoring 65 not out and 58 not out respectively. Guyana finished on 159 for 2, with Adam Sanford taking both wickets.Earlier, Deonarine took the last three Leeward Islands’ wickets to finish with his career-best figures of 5 for 94 from 28.4 overs. With this draw, Guyana gain six points for the first-innings lead. Krishna Arjune picked up the Man-of-the-Match award for his innings of 157.
Brett Lee will knock back "four or five" English county offers after Cricket Australia advised him to stay fresh for the Ashes. Despite a summer that has carried six Tests as 12th man, Lee will not use the break between the New Zealand tour in March and the start of the Ashes Tour in June for match practice.Neil Maxwell, Lee’s manager, said Lee had talks with the Australia selectors and was expected to decline a lucrative short-term contract. "They are keen for him to give it a miss and we would be silly not to follow their advice,” Maxwell told the Daily Telegraph. "They felt it would be too much of a drain on him.”While the selectors have asked him to slow down, Lee’s team-mates are telling him to hurry up because his run-up is threatening to cost them extra time and money. Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehmann have both advised him to speed up as Australia have regularly fallen behind their over rates during the VB Series."It is an issue for us,” Lehmann said. “That’s probably why we sometimes have to bowl myself and Andrew Symonds – probably not at the ideal time – to make sure we get our overs in. Lee’s got a long run, he knows that. He’s got to be quicker through his overs."Ponting told the Daily Telegraph "it was a bit of a concern". "There are times when sometimes I am forced to bowl the spinners when I probably wouldn’t want to because we are so far behind," he said. When a side fails to bowl its overs each player is fined 5% of their match fee per over and the captain’s loss is doubled. “It is something we have to address and get better at,” Ponting said.
Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Indian Cricket board, said that there were no plans to reschedule the planned Pepsi Triangular Tournament ODI against Australia on November 1 following the recent bomb blasts in the city which left 49 people dead and hundreds more injured.”There will be no change in the venue,” Dalmiya told reporters at a news conference in Calcutta. “It’s up to the government to look after security matters.”Dalmiya added that it was the responsibility of the government to provide extra security surrounding the match, were it deemed necessary. “It’s up to the Home Ministry to look into it. Who in the country can provide better security than the government?”
The Konica Queensland Fire will look to use the unexpected bonus ofpractice matches against world champions New Zealand this month toresurrect their faltering Women’s National League campaign.Queensland suffered their second successive defeat in as many rounds inthe WNCL over the weekend, losing both of their matches against NSW atDrummoyne Oval in Sydney.The Fire fought well on Saturday but lost comfortably on Sunday to leavethem winless so far this season.However Queensland will have the chance to put their house in orderlater this month with the New Zealand White Ferns coming to Brisbane toplay three matches.New Zealand had been scheduled to tour India but cancelled their visitin light of the international situation. Instead, they will play matchesagainst Queensland on December 17, 19 and 20 as part of their build-upto the coming series against Australia, the team they defeated in theWorld Cup Final at the start of the year.The first game of the mini-tour on December 17 will be at Allan BorderField with the remaining two games at the Gabba. All games will be daymatches.The Fire’s remaining WNCL matches are in January against the SouthernScorpions in Adelaide and the Western Fury at Allan Border Field.New Zealand will play a home and away series against the AustralianSouthern Stars team in February.
As per Italian news outlet Calciomercato.it, there has been a big update on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer plans for Juventus star and soon-to-be free agent Paulo Dybala.
The Lowdown: Spurs eye Dybala move…
According to reports recently, Tottenham are one of several Premier League sides in the mix to sign Dybala as a free agent with there still being no sign of a contract extension at Juve.
His current deal expires later this year with 90min claiming in February that Spurs and manager Antonio Conte were offered a chance to sign the Argentine.
Indeed, Dybala’s representatives have allegedly been sounding out potential landing spots and Calciomercato.it now say that Tottenham have made their first move pre-summer.
The Latest: Tottenham take ‘first steps’…
As shared by the Italian news outlet, Spurs and transfer chief Fabio Paratici have ‘already taken their first steps’ to sign Dybala alongside European heavyweights Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan.
They also say Spurs are one of the clubs who have made an ‘offer’ to the forward’s entourage – with the outlet going on to cite ‘La Stampa’ whilst claiming Dybala has rejected this proposal and all other foreign approaches.
The Verdict: Keep trying…
The South American star apparently favours staying at Juve but the Serie A giants are now having great ‘doubts’ over his proposed stay in Turin.
This could potentially hand Spurs another chance as managing director Fabio Paratici chases Dybala for Conte.
Described as ‘one of the most important players’ in Italy’s top flight by Calciomercato.it, the 28-year-old has bagged 12 goals and six assists in all competitions this season (Transfermarkt).
He can play across the forward line as a centre-forward, second striker and out wide (Transfermarkt), coming as a useful option for Conte in a variety of attacking roles.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Valued at £45 million by Transfermarkt, evidence of his terrific form, bypassing this fee and signing him for nothing would be a masterstroke by Paratici at Spurs.
Currently in the prime of his career, a second attempt to sign Dybala must be made, with former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson even claiming he would be a ‘massive’ signing for any side.
In other news: Spurs may now lose player tipped to be ‘really important’, he’s eyeing a north London exit! Find out more here.
Victoria’s fast-bowling stocks have been bolstered with the recalls of Shane Harwood and Dirk Nannes for the Pura Cup match against the leaders New South Wales on Friday. The Blues hold a two-point advantage over the Bushrangers after four games, but the home team won the FR Cup match at the MCG on Wednesday night.”It’s a top-of-the-table clash and the Blues have obviously got some big names, but if you try to play the reputations, you’re already dead in the water,” Victoria’s Andrew McDonald said. “We’ve had some good wins of late so that gives us some confidence and hopefully we can put it together in this clash.”Harwood and Nannes, who took 3 for 28 on Wednesday, come in for Cameron White, the captain who has a broken foot, and Clint McKay, who has an ankle injury. Brad Hodge will lead the side again in White’s absence.New South Wales have been hit by the withdrawal of Phil Jaques, who has the mumps, while Brett Lee will miss the match to rest. Michael Clarke is also in some doubt due to hamstring soreness.Victoria squad Michael Klinger, Robert Quiney, Brad Hodge (capt), David Hussey, Nick Jewell, Andrew McDonald, Matthew Wade (wk), Gerard Denton, Shane Harwood, Allan Wise, Bryce McGain, Dirk Nannes.New South Wales squad Phillip Hughes, Peter Forrest, Simon Katich (capt), Michael Clarke, Dominic Thornely, Brad Haddin (wk), Grant Lambert, Matthew Nicholson, Nathan Bracken, Beau Casson, Stuart Clark, Doug Bollinger.